Review of The Gate (1987) by Brad G — 12 Oct 2009
This 80s kiddie fright flick is Ace! After a lightning bolt obliterates his tree house, Stephen Dorff and his oddball BFF accidently open a gateway to hell which of course unleashes stinky smoke, evil voices, one zombie and dozens of tiny, bitey demons.
The forced perspective/stop-motion effects are amazing and fill this horror fanboy with glee. The film feels a little Joe Dante, a little Steven Spielberg, but it gets much darker and more disturbing than anything those two guys did with Gremlins or Poltergeist.
Tibor Takacs gets away with lot with his PG-13 rating. Implalings, face meltings, that zombie I mentioned. Wonderful! This would make a great companion piece for that other semi-forgotten 80s classic, The Monster Squad.
VF.
This review of The Gate (1987) was written by Brad G on 12 Oct 2009.
The Gate has generally received mixed reviews.
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